Joe Palcahttp://delmarvapublicradio.net
enProgress In The Fight Against A Parasite That Causes Diarrheal Diseasehttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/progress-fight-against-parasite-causes-diarrheal-disease
Scientists are reporting progress in the fight against a parasite that's a major cause of diarrheal disease in the developing world.<p>To make progress against any microbial disease, scientists usually try to find ways to tinker with the microbe's genes, looking for weak spots that could be exploited with drugs.<p>But tinkering with the genes of <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/crypto/">Cryptosporidium parvum</a> has been difficult, if not completely impossible.Wed, 15 Jul 2015 21:01:00 +0000Joe Palca78085 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netFlood Maps Can Get Much Sharper With A Little Supercomputing Oomphhttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/flood-maps-can-get-much-sharper-little-supercomputing-oomph
A small company in California is hoping to make a big splash by providing detailed flood maps to homeowners and insurance companies. And to do that, the company is using one of the fastest supercomputers in the world.<p>The company is called <a href="http://www.katrisk.com/">Katrisk</a>, based in Berkeley, Calif. Hydrologist and computer modeler Dag Lohmann is one of the company's founders.Tue, 30 Jun 2015 20:15:00 +0000Joe Palca77003 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netFlood Maps Can Get Much Sharper With A Little Supercomputing OomphHow A Drunken Chipmunk Voice Helps Send A Public Service Messagehttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/how-drunken-chipmunk-voice-helps-send-public-service-message
You get a voicemail message from a friend. Her voice sounds a little ... weird. Like a chipmunk who had too much to drink.<p>After her message, you're told you can push a button on the phone and hear another kind of message: say, job listings in your neighborhood or tips on how to stop the spread of Ebola.<p>That's how a new game called <a href="http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~./Polly/">Polly</a> works.Mon, 01 Jun 2015 07:32:00 +0000Joe Palca74936 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netHow A Drunken Chipmunk Voice Helps Send A Public Service MessageWelcome To The Neighborhood: 2 Super-Earths Discoveredhttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/welcome-neighborhood-2-super-earths-discovered
Using telescopes in Hawaii and California, astronomers have found two super-Earth-size planets orbiting a star a mere 54 light-years away.<p>This brings to three the total number of exoplanets around the star HD 7924.<p>The discovery is important for two reasons. NASA's <a href="http://kepler.nasa.gov/">Kepler</a> telescope has shown that giant rocky planets orbiting close to their stars are fairly common for distant stars.Wed, 29 Apr 2015 18:29:00 +0000Joe Palca73037 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netWelcome To The Neighborhood: 2 Super-Earths DiscoveredHubble's Other Telescope And The Day It Rocked Our Worldhttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/hubbles-other-telescope-and-day-it-rocked-our-world
The Hubble Space Telescope this week celebrates 25 years in Earth's orbit.Sat, 25 Apr 2015 11:59:00 +0000Joe Palca72817 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netHubble's Other Telescope And The Day It Rocked Our WorldDoctors Test Tumor Paint In Peoplehttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/doctors-test-tumor-paint-people
A promi<em>s</em>ing technique for making brain tumors glow so they'll be easier for surgeons to remove is now being tested in cancer patients.<p>Eighteen months ago, Shots first told readers about <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/09/12/221060071/why-painting-tumors-could-make-brain-surgeons-better">tumor paint</a>, an experimental substance derived from scorpion venom. Inject tumor paint into a patient's vein, and it will actually cross the blood-brain barrier and find its way to a brain tumor.Wed, 08 Apr 2015 07:45:00 +0000Joe Palca71778 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netDoctors Test Tumor Paint In PeopleWant To Do A Little Astrophysics? This App Detects Cosmic Rayshttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/want-do-little-astrophysics-app-detects-cosmic-rays
Scientists in California are hoping to use your smart phone to solve a cosmic mystery. They're developing an app to turn your phone into a cosmic ray detector.Mon, 30 Mar 2015 18:34:00 +0000Joe Palca71293 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netWant To Do A Little Astrophysics? This App Detects Cosmic RaysClimate Scientist Tries Arts To Stir Hearts Regarding Earth's Fatehttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/climate-scientist-tries-arts-stir-hearts-regarding-earths-fate
<p>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5kml7Fb17o</p>Mon, 16 Feb 2015 21:00:00 +0000Joe Palca68993 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netClimate Scientist Tries Arts To Stir Hearts Regarding Earth's FateOn The Ant Highway, There's Never A Backuphttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/ant-highway-theres-never-backup
A team of Indian physicists has made a mathematical model that purports to explain why ants don't have traffic jams. NPR's Joe Palca explains as part of his series, <em>Joe's Big Idea.</em><p><em>This story <a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/01/19/377743242/why-ants-handle-traffic-better-than-you-do">originally aired</a> on </em>Morning Edition<em> on January 19, 2015.</em> <div class="fullattribution">Copyright 2015 NPR.Mon, 26 Jan 2015 22:58:00 +0000Joe Palca67835 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netWhy Ants Handle Traffic Better Than You Dohttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/why-ants-handle-traffic-better-you-do
Could studying ants reveal clues to reducing highway traffic jams? Physicist Apoorva Nagar at the <a href="http://www.iist.ac.in/">Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology</a> thinks the answer is yes.<p>Nagar says he got interested in the topic when he came across a <a href="https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.108001#authors">study</a> by German and Indian researchers showing that ants running along a path were able to maintain a steady speed even when there were a large number of ants on the path.<p>Nagar says there are three main reasons ants don't jam up.Mon, 19 Jan 2015 08:34:00 +0000Joe Palca67424 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netWhy Ants Handle Traffic Better Than You DoCould Glitter Help Solve NASA's Giant Telescope Problem?http://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/could-glitter-help-solve-nasas-giant-telescope-problem
NASA is building a new space telescope with <a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/04/26/179224939/james-webb-space-telescope-wings-it">astounding capabilities</a>. The James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled for launch in 2018, will replace the aging Hubble Space Telescope and will provide unprecedented views of the first galaxies to form in the early universe. It might even offer the first clear glimpse of an Earth-like planet orbiting a distant star.<p>But there's a problem with the James Webb telescope: It's expensive. Very expensive — $8 billion expensive.Tue, 23 Dec 2014 21:21:00 +0000Joe Palca66145 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netCould Glitter Help Solve NASA's Giant Telescope Problem?Why Some Scientific Collaborations Are More Beneficial Than Othershttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/why-some-scientific-collaborations-are-more-beneficial-others
<div class="fullattribution">Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.<img src="http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Why+Some+Scientific+Collaborations+Are+More+Beneficial+Than+Others&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxODM0MTAzMDEyMTY4NDEzNjUxZmMzYQ004)"/></div><p>Transcript <p>RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: <p>Science is all about collaborations. But there is new evidence that some collaborations may be more beneficial than others.Mon, 15 Dec 2014 10:01:00 +0000Joe Palca65706 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netTo Search For A New Supernova, Build A New Camerahttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/search-new-supernova-build-new-camera
The search for the massive star explosions called supernovae is about to get a big boost. Astronomers at Caltech in Pasadena are building a new camera that will let them survey the entire night sky in three nights.<p>The problem with looking for supernovae is you can't really be sure when and where to look for them. Most telescope cameras can only capture a small patch of sky at a time.Thu, 04 Dec 2014 08:14:00 +0000Joe Palca65125 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netTo Search For A New Supernova, Build A New CameraAfrica Inspires A Health Care Experiment In New York http://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/african-village-inspires-health-care-experiment-new-york
There's a project in the neighborhood of Harlem in New York that has a through-the-looking-glass quality. An organization called City Health Works is trying to bring an African model of health care delivery to the United States.Mon, 24 Nov 2014 10:16:00 +0000Joe Palca64638 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netAfrica Inspires A Health Care Experiment In New York A Non-GMO Way To Get More, Tastier Tomatoes http://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/non-gmo-way-get-more-tastier-tomatoes
People who grow tomatoes want varieties that produce as much saleable crop as possible. People who eat tomatoes are less interested in yield, and more in taste. The tension between taste and yield can get pretty intense. What's a poor tomato plant to do?<p>Enter <a href="http://www.cshl.edu/Faculty/lippman-zachary-assistant-professor.html">Zach Lippman</a>, a plant geneticist from <a href="http://www.cshl.edu/">Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory</a> in New York.Mon, 03 Nov 2014 17:33:00 +0000Joe Palca63534 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netA Non-GMO Way To Get More, Tastier Tomatoes Look Here: Phone App Checks Photos For Eye Diseasehttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/look-here-phone-app-checks-photos-eye-disease
There's now free software for your iPhone that lets you check for early signs of certain eye diseases.<p>The idea for the app comes from a Baylor University chemist named <a href="http://www.baylor.edu/mediacommunications/index.php?id=92176">Bryan Shaw</a>.Fri, 31 Oct 2014 08:57:00 +0000Joe Palca63376 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netLook Here: Phone App Checks Photos For Eye DiseaseIn Hopes Of Fixing Faulty Genes, One Scientist Starts With The Basicshttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/hopes-fixing-faulty-genes-one-scientist-starts-basics
Whether they admit it or not, many (if not most) scientists secretly hope to get a call in October informing them they've won a Nobel Prize.<p>But I've talked to a lot of Nobel laureates, and they are unanimous on one point: None of them pursued a research topic with the intention of winning the prize.<p>That's certainly true for <a href="http://rna.berkeley.edu/">Jennifer Doudna</a>.Mon, 13 Oct 2014 07:20:00 +0000Joe Palca62471 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netIn Hopes Of Fixing Faulty Genes, One Scientist Starts With The BasicsSlippery When Coated: Helping Medical Devices Prevent Blood Clotshttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/slippery-when-coated-helping-medical-devices-resist-blood-clots
A carnivorous plant has inspired an invention that may turn out to be a medical lifesaver.<p>Nepenthes, also known as tropical pitcher plants or monkey cups, produce a <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/101/39/14138.long">superslippery surface</a> that causes unfortunate insects that climb into the plant to slide to their doom.<p>Scientists at Harvard's <a href="http://wyss.harvard.edu/">Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering</a> wondered if they could find a way to mimic that surface to solve a problem in medicine.<p>The medical problem is blood clots.Sun, 12 Oct 2014 17:03:00 +0000Joe Palca62455 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netSlippery When Coated: Helping Medical Devices Prevent Blood ClotsMission To Study Mars' Climate Enters Red Planet's Orbithttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/mission-study-mars-climate-reaches-next-step
This Sunday night, we headed back to Mars: NASA's MAVEN spacecraft fired its six main engines, slowing down enough so it could be captured by the gravity of the red planet and go into orbit.<p>MAVEN, which stands for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, is a distinctly un-sexy name for a project as cool as a sojourn to Mars.Sun, 21 Sep 2014 21:02:00 +0000Joe Palca61447 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netMission To Study Mars' Climate Enters Red Planet's OrbitA $1 Microscope Folds From Paper With A Drop Of Gluehttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/1-microscope-folds-paper-drop-glue
<p>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBjIYB5Yk2I</p><p>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8cF5QPPmWU</p>Wed, 03 Sep 2014 20:40:00 +0000Joe Palca60566 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netA $1 Microscope Folds From Paper With A Drop Of GlueBuild A Toothbrush, Change The World. Or Nothttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/build-toothbrush-change-world-or-not
Some people dream of climbing Mount Everest or riding a bicycle across the country. <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/mike-davidson-rdh-bsdh/68/a46/417">Mike Davidson's dream</a> has been to create the perfect toothbrush, and now he thinks he's done it.<p>The saga of this brush tells a lot about the passion and persistence to take an idea and turn it into a product.<p>Shots first <a href="http://www.npr.org/2012/12/27/168080635/the-quest-for-the-perfect-toothbrush">introduced you</a> to Davidson in 2012.Wed, 27 Aug 2014 07:27:00 +0000Joe Palca60182 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netBuild A Toothbrush, Change The World. Or NotWhere We Learn That Artificial Eyes Really Aren't Round At Allhttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/where-we-learn-artificial-eyes-really-arent-round-all
Almost every time reporters go out on assignment, they run across something unexpected that they just can't fit into the story they're working on.<p>When science correspondent Joe Palca and producer Rebecca Davis were in Boston reporting on a boy with a rare form of cancer, they found themselves in the office of <a href="http://www.jahrling.com/Jopi/AboutJopi.htm">Jahrling Ocular Prosthetics</a>, a business dedicated to making artificial eyes.<p>Joe and Rebecca spoke with Joyce and Eric Jahrling, two of the four Jahrlings who work at this family firm, and learned some surprising things about mMon, 11 Aug 2014 07:27:00 +0000Joe Palca59277 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netWhere We Learn That Artificial Eyes Really Aren't Round At AllTransformer Paper Turns Itself Into A Robot. Cool!http://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/transformer-paper-turns-itself-robot-cool
Every so often, a scientific paper just begs for a sexy headline.<p>Consider this study in the current issue of <em>Science</em>: "<a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1252610">A Method for Building Self-folding Machines</a>." A bit bland, you'll no doubt agree. <em>A Real-Life, Origami-Inspired Transformer</em> is how the journal's public affairs department referred to it.Thu, 07 Aug 2014 18:03:00 +0000Joe Palca59112 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netTransformer Paper Turns Itself Into A Robot. Cool!Close Encounters Of The Radio Kind? Mystery Bursts Baffle Astronomershttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/close-encounters-radio-kind-mystery-bursts-baffle-astronomers
Astronomers have a mystery on their hands. Two large radio telescopes, on opposite sides of the planet, have detected very brief, very powerful bursts of radio waves.<p>Right now, astronomers have no idea what's causing these bursts or where they're coming from. And nothing has been ruled out at the moment — not even the kind of outrageous claims you'd expect to see in tabloid headlines.<p><strong>Australian Recordings Inspire Curiosity And Doubt</strong><p>The first report of these "fast radio bursts" appeared in 2007.Sat, 26 Jul 2014 12:13:00 +0000Joe Palca58419 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netClose Encounters Of The Radio Kind? Mystery Bursts Baffle AstronomersRosetta Spacecraft Readies For Rendezvous With Comethttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/rosetta-spacecraft-readies-rendezvous-comet
<div class="fullattribution">Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.<img src="http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Rosetta+Spacecraft+Readies+For+Rendezvous+With+Comet&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxODc0NzU5MDEyMTgyMDUxMzlkN2IzMw004)"/></div><p>Transcript <p>STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: <p>Next month, the European Space Agency's Rosetta space probe will catch up with a comet, which it has been chasing across the solar system for a decade. Once there, the Rosetta probe will take pictures, make measurements and drop a probe down to the comet's surface.Tue, 22 Jul 2014 08:45:00 +0000Joe Palca58156 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netTo Make A Spacecraft That Folds And Unfolds, Try Origamihttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/make-spacecraft-folds-and-unfolds-try-origami
Scientists and engineers at NASA are using <a href="http://www.origami-resource-center.com/">origami techniques</a> to help solve a fundamental dilemma facing spacecraft designers: How do you take a big object, pack it into a small container for rocket launch, and then unpack it again once it arrives in space — making sure nothing breaks in the process.<p>Brian Trease, an engineer at NASA's <a href="http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/">Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a>, says one way is to use something called the <a href="http://www.ijpam.eu/contents/2012-79-2/8/8.pdf">Miura fold</a>, named for its inventor,Thu, 17 Jul 2014 20:27:00 +0000Joe Palca57953 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netWhy Theories On Black Holes Are Full Of Holeshttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/theories-black-holes-are-full-holes
<div class="fullattribution">Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.<img src="http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Why+Theories+On+Black+Holes+Are+Full+Of+Holes&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDA4NjQ1MDk3MDEzMjMxOTI5Mzc4NjVjNA004)"/></div><p>Transcript <p>RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: <p>Scientists announced, earlier this week, they had discovered three supermassive black holes orbiting close together in a single galaxy. That indicates that black holes are more common than astronomers previously thought.Tue, 01 Jul 2014 10:31:00 +0000Joe Palca56968 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netIf They Want To Make Anything, Proteins Must Know How To Foldhttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/if-they-want-make-anything-proteins-must-know-how-fold
<div class="fullattribution">Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.<img src="http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=If+They+Want+To+Make+Anything%2C+Proteins+Must+Know+How+To+Fold&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAyMTczMTYzMDEyMzI0OTI3OTQ5NTc2ZQ001)"/></div><p>Transcript <p>MELISSA BLOCK, HOST: <p>Events unfold. Plots unfold. And this summer, NPR science correspondent Joe Palca has been telling us how science unfolds.Fri, 27 Jun 2014 20:20:00 +0000Joe Palca56826 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netA CRISPR Way To Fix Faulty Geneshttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/crispr-way-fix-faulty-genes
Scientists from many areas of biology are flocking to a technique that allows them to work inside cells, making changes in specific genes far faster — and for far less money — than ever before.<p>"It's really powerful, it's a really exciting development," says <a href="http://profiles.umassmed.edu/profiles/display/129741">Craig Mello</a> of the University of Massachusetts Medical School.Thu, 26 Jun 2014 20:44:00 +0000Joe Palca56770 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netA CRISPR Way To Fix Faulty GenesPhone App Might Predict Manic Episodes In Bipolar Disorderhttp://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/phone-app-might-predict-manic-episodes-bipolar-disorder
There are smartphone apps for monitoring your diet, your drugs, even your heart.Sat, 31 May 2014 09:22:00 +0000Joe Palca55206 at http://delmarvapublicradio.netPhone App Might Predict Manic Episodes In Bipolar Disorder